Boll-breaking and cotton-separating machine



J. EII/HTCHELLK BOLL BREAKING AND COTTON SEPARATING MACHINE.

Patented Feb. 15s1192L APPLICATION FKILED NOV 7.' |919.

Ulti

JOHN E. MITCHELL, 0F ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

Specication of Letters latent.

Patented Feb.'15, 1921.

Application led November 7, 1919. Serial No. 336,295.

T 0 all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN E. MITCHELL, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Boll-Breaking and Cotton-Separating Machines, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to a combined boll breaking and cotton separating machine of a type particularly designed for use in the iield by small planters.

rIhe broad object of the invention is to provide novelmeans for permitting the free discharge of hulls, trash, sticks, etc., from the workingchamber of the machine without at the same time permitting the loss, or escape of cotton. Y

With the above general object' in view,

-the invention resides in the novel construction and arrangement ofthe hull board and parts immediately associated therewith combined with means for inducing an upward current of air past the saw cylinder, whereby the free discharge of trash is permitted through the discharge opening from the working chamber while small wads, or locks of cotton will be drawn upward by the air current, or, at least held suspended, and be prevented from escaping with the trash.

The present invention is in eii'ect an improvement of the idea embodied in the patent to Elliott No. 1,081,594, datedDecember 16, 1913, wherein a blast of airis discharged -from the bottom of the hull board toward the saw cylinder for the purpose of blowing the cotton against the teeth of the latter while notl interfering with the free discharge of the hulls.v In operation, however, this idea was not found to be entirely satisfactory in preventing a discharge of light, round locks, or wads, of cotton from the working chamber by reason of the fact that the saw teeth would not always'take hold of them when they were blown over in contact with the saw cylinder; whereas,`

with the proper amount of suction up through the discharge space, cotton of the character referred `to is lifted enough to prevent its falling, or being knocked out through the discharge space.

In the use of a machine of this characterA in the field, it is necessary to provide for dealing with a considerable quantity of sticks, by reason of the fact that when the planters have the machine to depend upon for cleaning the cotton they gather the cotton very rapidly, stripping parts of the stalk along with the bolls,whereas, without the machine, when the cotton must be taken to the market just as it is gathered, the planters naturally take more time in gather- 1ng, or picking it, owing to the higher price obtained for the cleaner grades of cotton.

In consequence of having an eXtra amount of sticks and trash to contend with 1n operating in the field, it is necessary to provide avery free and open space for the escape of the sticks and trash through the opening between the bottom of the hull board and the saw cylinder.

To provide this eXtra large opening, and at the same time prevent the waste of small locks, or wads of cotton, which would ordinarily pass through with the refuse, I use a fan, or other suction device for causing a light current of airto flow up through the discharge 'space between the bottom of the hull board and the saw' cylinder, so as to cause such wads, or locks, of cotton to be drawn up and toward the saw cylinder, or to suspend the same, as it were, in the working chamber, to prevent their falling through with the trash, so that they may be engaged by the saw cylinder.

There is very little tendency for large locks, or wads of cotton to discharge with the hulls and trash, as such locks always fall against the saw cylinder and are easily caught by the teeth of the saw and carried up out of the discharge space. But small round locks, or wads of cotton which are often encountered and sometimes without having seeds in them, do not readily hang, or catch on the teeth of the saws, and easily Vroll out through the discharge opening with the trash and hulls. Such bodies of cotton, however, are very light for their size,- especially when they contain no seeds,-in proportion to the hulls and sticks, so that have found it to be a simple matter to induce a current of air up through the discharge space to prevent the discharge, or loss, of such bodies of cotton as referred to, but at the same time notV interfere' with the free discharge of the hulls, sticks,pand other trash.

Having thus dened theV purpose and general character of the invention, I shall now describe the same 'in detail, referring to the accompanying drawing, inwhich the figure is a vertical sectional View through a machine constructed according to myinvention, the drivingV mechanism for operating the Various element-sof the machine not being shown, as the construction and arrangement* of these parts are within the understanding i ofall those familiar with this art.

The numeral 1 indicates a casing inclosing the operating mechanism, which casing is supported on a base 2. Mounted on the casing is a feed hopper 3, in the bottom of which are rotatably mounted feed rollers 1. Be-

low the feedzrollers is mounted the bollbreaking cylinder 5,- which is partly sur -rounded by a screen' 6. Plates 7 and 8 suitably mounted inthe casing 1 in spaced relation provide an outlet 9 from the bell-breaking chamber 10, in which the boll breaker 5 is mounted, and the upper ofthese plates, 8,

is continued to form a semicircular deiiector 11 to direct the products from the breaking chamber on an imperforate hull-board 12, vwhich is mounted below the plate 7.

A. saw cylinder, 13, kicker roll llandv dofer brush 15 are mounted in the casing. in a well known 'manner,and as shown invarious of my prior patents, the dofer brushremoving the cote ton from the saw` cylinder and discharging itthrough an opening 16.V inthe casino' of themachine. y Between the lower endo the hull-board 12 and the saw cylinder 13 a space 17 is provided for the escapeof hulls, trash land sticks from the working chamber 18, and

the hull-,board is made adjustable, as usual,

to Vary the size of this opening according to. the character-of cotton being treated in yuniformly drawn from the'hopper bythe feed rollers 4. As it is drawn through betweenthe rollers ll, the fingers of the breaking cylinder pick the cotton oif and carryit around against thescreen 6, the sand Online dirt passing through the screen while the cotton, hulls, and sticks are thrown outward through the outlet 9 into the working chamrber -18 and are directed by the deflector 11 onto the hull-board 12,'from which the productvslides across thedischarge spacerl into contact with the saw cylinder.l The cotton -iscaught `by Vthe, teeth of the saw cylinder Y and carried upward, while the loose .hulls .and sticks fall out through the discharge yspace 17.y The hulls adliering-'torrthe cotton ,carriedupffby theL- teethlof .the saws ,are

knocked loose by the kicker roll 14 and thrownback onto the hull-board 12, whileV the. cotton is carried through underneath the kicker roll "and is removedfrom the saw cylinder by the doffer brush'A 15 and discharged through the openinglG. rlhe suc-4 tion fan 21 causes a current of air to be drawn up through the discharge space 17, as

indicated by-arrows, which current draws upward, or holds in suspension, the small wads, or locks, of cotton, so thatthe latter are prevented from,- falling outv of the work- Y ing chamber with the..trash, as previously described, and in time will Vbe .caughtup by the saw cylinder inthe same way as the other cotton in the working chamber. Y

lt will be understood, ofcourse, that `the current of air inducedby the Vfan 21 will be ,so regulated-as notrto have a. forceesullicient to draw the cotton out' of the working chamber,but will be merely of a strength to arrest the downwardmovementrof the cotton and impart only slight upward `movement thereto, thus holdingv the; small/wads, or. locks of cotton: in ,the work-ing chamber' until they havexbeen caught` up by'thesaw. It is essential `for thisoperation that'the hull-board 12 be imperforate, as otherwise the upward. current of airv would :not be lconfined tothe space 17, anditserfectin:` preventing the fall of thecotton throughthe opening 17 would be practically m'Z. Moreover, with an open-work;Orgrated, hullboard,Y such .asis commonly illustrated in the prior art, the air currentpassing through the openings or spaces inthe hull-boardV would' seriously interfereA with4 the, proper passage ofthe cotton over the-hull-board tov the saw cylinder. l lpclaim: i Y 1. ln a; machine of the class described in combination 1 with a saw gcylinder, an .irnperforate hull-board, the lower. end of which definesthe sizev of a dischargeeopeningfor hulls past the saw cylinder, and means V:for inducing an upward currentcf air through said discharge opening. of y sufcient strength to lift the cotton, or impede itsfalhrwithout interfering: withV theffall :of the'. hulls through said opening. f' Y 2. ln a machine of .the class. described, havin@- ya .working-chamber "for receiving the mixed cotton andhullslv to be separated, a saw cylinderworking in saidchamber, an imperforate hull board,the lower endof which defines 4the sizeY offan openingv past said :saw: cylinderk for the i escape. of yhulls from' said.workingechamheig and means for inducing an upward current of air-through said discharge opening and said workingchamber of sufficient strength to liftzth'e cotton, or impede its fall, without 'interfering withlfthe .fall lof theA hullszf t,hroughsaidV ope1nng. f 1

3.v In av` machine of the Dclass described,

having a working-chamber, boll breaking mechanism operating to deliver the mixed cotton and hulls to said working-chamber, cotton separating mechanism including a saw cylinder working in said chamber, an imperforate hull board, the lower end of which defines the size of an opening past said saw cylinder for the discharge of hulls from said working chamber, and means for inducing an upward current of air through said opening and said working-chamber of suilicient strength to lift the cotton, or imede its fall, without interfering with the lall of the hulls through said opening.

4. In a machine of the class described, in combination with a casing, a boil-breaking chamber located therein, boll breaking mechanism mounted in said chamber, cotton-separating mechanism including a saw cylinder, mounted in said casing, the construction affording a working-chamber between the two sets o mechanisms, an upwardly-inclined chute leading from said bell-breaking chamber, a hull-board located beneath the upper end of said chute, the lower end of which hull-board defines the size of an opening past said saw cylinder for the escape of hulls from said working-chamber, a curved deflector surrounding the mouth of said chute above said hull-board, and means for withdrawing air from said casing whereby to cause a current of air to pass upward through said opening and working chamber.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set m hand.

y JOHN E. MITCHELL. 

